Five of Bushy Park Motor Sport Inc’s (BPMSI) Reigning Champions will start the defence of their 2016 titles at Bushy Park Barbados on Sunday (March 26), as BPMSI joins forces with the Barbados Association of Dragsters & Drifters (BADD) and the Barbados Cycling Union (BCU) to stage the island’s first-ever combined event for horsepower and pedal-power. BADD officials are looking forward to a day of potentially record-breaking competition, while the BCU is hoping to use Sunday as a stepping-stone for the future.

Confirmed entries for BPMSI’s season-opener include Group 1/Class 2 Champion Adrian Bailey, who attended both the February and March Open Track Days in his Peugeot 205 to prepare for the new season; his opposition will include Devan McCartney (Honda CRC), who finished second in Gp1/C2 last year, along with other class podium finishers Robert Gill (Toyota Starlet), Jermin Pope (Honda Civic) and Ryan Wood, back in his BMW 318ti Compact, having recently been crowned the second Suzuki Challenge Series Swift Cup Champion.

While Champion Driver Geoffrey Ullyett, who also won Gp1/C1 in his Nissan last year, is not entered, the front-runners who finished second, third and fourth in the class respectively are all on the list, Darren Lashley (Peugeot 205XS), Andre Walcott (Suzuki Swift) and William Jones (Datsun B310), with Lashley and Walcott among those who will possibly double up with entries on the drag strip, too.

Other Group Champions looking to start their season on the front foot are Tremaine Forde-Catwell (Gp2/C1 Daihatsu Charmant) – he also has an alternative entry for the now-turbocharged Group 3 Nissan, formerly campaigned by his father ‘Cheese’ – Andre Forde (Gp2/C2 Toyota Starlet), Kenrick ‘Snappa’ Husbands (Gp3/C2 Toyota Starlet) and Mark Maloney (Gp4/2wd Mazda RX-3).

On the BADD front, Chairman Jason Downey reports: “We have two individuals who are out to break the Overall 1/8-mile Record of 6.598 seconds, which was set by Roger Mayers in his Ford Focus back in March 2012, five years to the weekend. Dan Johnson, in his first outing in the Westfield Megawatt in October last year, set a blistering 6.626s, only 28 thousandths of a second adrift, which is the new 2wd record. Another one out for the title is Robert Bishop, who stopped the clocks at 6.675s in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V, also in October. He will be driving a fully race-prepared Evo VII this time out.”

Returning to BADD action for the first time since last April is Sol Esuf, who won the Suzuki Challenge Series SR3 Cup in his first full season of circuit racing. He remains BADD’s 1/4-mile 4wd record holder in a time of 9.788s from the Thicketts ‘Rematch’ in April 2014, so will also perhaps be looking at the 1/8-mile record, too.

The sharp end of the times at BADD Launch Control, round 1, will also include Reigning Champion Jeremy ‘Silent’ Greenidge in his Evo-powered Mitsubishi Mirage, the Evo IIIs of Matthew ‘DMZ’ Forde and Barry Gilkes, along with Corey Stanford (Toyota Corolla) and Graeme Finlayson in his motor-cycle-engined Westfield Megabusa. Competition in the front-wheel-drive category is also expected to be keen, with Suzuki Swifts driven by Shawn ‘Short Man’ Eversley and Kevin Griffith trying to hold off the Honda Civic of Anthony Mayers.

As the BCU’s decision to run at Bushy Park on Sunday was made only very recently, entries are still flowing in. The most prominent among them so far is the noted Russell Elcock, who has several National and Caribbean Championship titles to his name, earned between 2008 and 2016.

A seven-car team from Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI) will see action at South Dakota in Guyana this weekend (November 12/13), as the 2016 Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) reaches its fourth and final round. Three 40ft containers loaded in the Bushy Park Barbados pits before the weekend were scheduled to land in Guyana today (Wednesday).

Mark Maloney (Digicel/RBC/Maloney Racing Team Mazda RX-3) will contest Group 4 2wd, in which he has won five of the nine races so far this year; apart from being elbowed out of the opening race at Jamwest in Jamaica in May, he has a 100 per cent finishing record, winning all three races at Wallerfield in July, then the third race at Bushy Park in September, after a thrilling duel with Barry Mayers (Suzuki SX-4).

The Group title will be decided between Maloney, Jamaica’s Peter Rae (Mazda RX-7) and T&T’s Franklyn Boodram, who looks set to be racing his Renault Megane Trophy for the last time, as the car has recently been advertised for sale. The top group is split this year, with a year-end Champion to be declared in both 4wd and 2wd and no Overall CMRC Champion.

Guyana’s Paul Vieira is Champion Elect in Gp3, having won eight of the nine races in his former Mazda RX-7, which he campaigns under the T&T flag; even if he failed to finish three times at South Dakota, no-one can prevent him winning back-to-back titles. But there’s a huge scrap on the cards for the places behind him, with just eight points spread across the next four drivers, including equal fourth Steve King (Automotive Art/Valvoline/Percy King Auto Parts Toyota Starlet), who claimed his first CMRC win for Barbados at Wallerfield.

In his battle with Guyana’s Nizam Gafoor and Danny Persaud, both in Mazda Miatas, and T&T’s Ronald Wortman (Honda Civic), King will be hoping for strong performances from his three Barbados team-mates. Former Gp2 Champion Kurt Thompson (Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty/Digicel 4G/Beacon Insurance/RA Mapp/Versatile Construction/Slam 101.1FM/Y103.3FM Honda CRX) is currently eighth and Shawn Eversley (L&N Workshop/SE Performance Suzuki Swift), who will be touring for the first time to represent his country, is 10th. Also lining up in Gp3 is Tremaine-Forde Catwell, who will campaign the CCT Paints/Cheese Auto Glass Finishes/Hilti/Mark’s Auto Spares Datsun 1200 Turbo, in which his father had considerable success at Bushy Park.

Mark Thompson (Stag Beer/Automotive Art/Rock Hard Cement/Glassesco/NKM Clothing/Bio-Beauty/Versatile Construction/Slam 101.1FM/Y103.3FM Civic) is in with a shout for a third Gp2 title – he was Champion in 2012 & ’14, and currently lies third in the standings. T&T’s Luke Bhola (Civic) leads the title chase, but has scored in all nine races, although he has yet to win one. His fellow-countryman and Reigning Champion Marc Gill (Civic) has only scored in six, as has Thompson.

Once you drop Bhola’s lowest three scores, there are only 18 points spread across these three very competitive drivers, so there is all to play for this weekend, with a potential 75 points on offer. Thompson will be hoping that Kenrick ‘Snappa’ Husbands (Williams Equipment/MP/Big Gas/Hilti Starlet), another former Gp2 Champion, will be able to mix up the action and help him to the title.

Qualifying from noon on Saturday will be followed by an action-packed programmes of 27 races on Sunday, slated to start at 8.20am, following the traditional Lap of Honour. As well as three races each for the CMRC categories, there will be local events for the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club Championships.

Geoff Ullyett and Brook Miller are Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc’s (BPMSI) 2016 Champion Driver and Champion Rider respectively, following the end of the Club’s second season at the Williams Digicel International Race Meet earlier this month. While the Suzuki Challenge Series will not reach its Summer Season finale until October 30, more than 100 competitors have already scored points in BPMSI-run Championships.

Ullyett won Group 1/Class 1 on all but one occasion in his Nissan 150Y, giving him a near-perfect score of 218 points (of 225 available) in one of the season’s best-subscribed classes. Gp1/C2 winner Adrian Bailey (Peugeot 205) finishes second overall, with 156 points, while Darren Lashley, who finished second in Gp1/C1 in another 205, finishes third with 141.

Miller rode his Suzuki GSX-R600 to victory in Bikes Class A in five of the nine races run. Despite a tumble in the second race at the International, which left him on the sidelines for the rest of the day, he had done enough earlier in the season to edge out Reigning Champion Kris Brathwaite (Yamaha R6) by just four points. Terrance Ollivierre (Suzuki GSX-R600) is third, another 29 points adrift. The Bikes Class B title fight was even closer – with 124 points, Ronnie Cooke (Kawasaki ZX6-R) beat Lowrey Worrell (Suzuki GSX-R600) by three points, with Stephon Holder third on his Triumph Daytona. Holder and Ollivierre were respectively the highest points-scorers at the International, while Ollivierre has also won the Hilti Handicap Championship for Bikes.

At the International, competitors in Williams Equipment Group 3, Group 4 and the Monster Energy Bike classes scored points within the Seaboard Marine CMRC races, while Percy King Auto Parts Group 1 and Crane & Equipment Group 2 combined to form the biggest grids of the day . . . and some thrilling action ensued.

The first race of the day was red-flagged shortly after the start, as Mark Thompson (Toyota Starlet) stalled and could not move off before the field completed the opening lap; all went smoothly at the restart. Tremaine Forde-Catwell (Daihatsu Charmant) led throughout, also winning Gp2/C1, with Andre Forde (Starlet) claiming Gp2/C2 honours, ahead of some lively action in the Group 1 classes.

Racing at Bushy Park for the first time this year, Reigning Champion Driver Jermin Pope (Honda Civic) was back on the pace, finishing third overall and winning Gp1/C2 from Bailey and Devan McCartney (Honda CRX). In Gp1/C1, seventh overall gave Ullyett his first win of the day, heading home Andre Walcott (Suzuki Swift) and Lashley.

The day’s second race was fought out on a streaming wet track, a number of seasoned campaigners among those caught out by the conditions. McCartney and Bailey were the class of the field, finishing seven-tenths apart, first and second in Gp1/C2, with a hugely impressive drive from Trinidad & Tobago’s Bridget Singh (Civic) netting a well-deserved third place overall and in class. Ullyett’s only defeat of the year came at the hands of Shawn Boxill: the rear-engined rwd Hillman Imp proved ideal for the conditions, Boxill powering from 24th on the grid to sixth overall, with Ullyett and Walcott completing the class podium. In Group 2, only Forde and Windell Holmes (Acura Integra) finished.

With the track dry once again, race three was dominated by Forde-Catwell, once Forde had retired. TF-C took the chequered flag 17secs clear of the field, for his second Gp2/C1 win of the day – he had aquaplaned off into the W’s gravel trap in race two – with Holmes second and winner of Gp2/C2. Behind them, the Group 1 classes produced a rich vein of competition, Singh showing her talents again, this time winning Gp1/C2, ahead of Bailey and Pope. Ullyett was back in control of Gp1/C1, finishing sixth overall, with Walcott second and Nathaniel Munroe (Mini) third.

BPMSI’s final date of the 2016 season is Sunday, October 30, when the club will join forces with the Barbados Karting Association (BKA) and the Barbados Association of Dragsters & Drifters (BADD) at Bushy Park Barbados for an all-day programme of motor sport action running from day into night.

Team Barbados was the top points-scorer in last weekend’s (September 3/4) Williams Digicel International Race Meet at Bushy Park Barbados, moving from fourth to second in the Country standings of 2016 Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC). With two wins and a second place in Group 4 and a new CMRC lap record to his credit, Barry Mayers was the most successful individual in the team.

With a total of 1,133 points, Trinidad & Tobago now looks set to win the title it missed out on last year by just eight points, but the battle for second place will go down to the final round at South Dakota in Guyana on November 12/13. Barbados now has 583 points, ahead of Jamaica (465pts) and Guyana (350pts), with the smaller Cayman Islands and CAMS teams completing the table. In the separate Country Championship for Bikes, Guyana has a healthy lead, with 437 points, ahead of a close battle for the runner-up spot between T&T (161pts), Jamaica (156pts) and Barbados (133pts).

Organised by Bushy Park Motor Sports Inc (BPMSI), the 23-race programme had also included races for the Suzuki Challenge Series SR3 Cup and Swift Cup and the BPMSI’s 2016 Club Championship; fans enjoyed a total of more than 170 racing laps, their enthusiasm undiminished by a day of frequent rain showers, with Hilti Handicap races for cars and bikes rounding off the programme.

Although ‘De Focus’ was missing in action during Saturday Qualifying with an oil pressure problem, losing the chance of a hat-trick of CMRC Group 4 pole positions, the name atop the times was still Mayers, albeit Barry rather than brother Roger. Driving the Chefette / Digicel / Sol / DHL / Hankook / Illusion Graphics Suzuki SX4, the younger sibling set a time of 1m 01.407s, 1.4sec faster than Mark Maloney (Digicel / RBC / Maloney Racing Team Mazda RX-3), these two well ahead of the field.

When the lights went out at the start of the first race, it was clear the battle would be between these two, and so it played out. After winning the first encounter by 6.5secs, Mayers came under greater pressure in race two on a damp track, the margin of victory just 1.2secs, which set up a thrilling finale, which had the crowd on its feet. Mayers led from the start, but Maloney found a way past on lap three . . . but could not pull away. Mayers piled on the pressure, hoping for a Maloney error, but made a mistake of his own under braking at the Dipper, spinning out and rejoining to finish 10.6secs adrift, but with the consolation of a new CMRC lap record of 1min 01.178secs, knocking four-tenths of the mark set by Guyana’s Kristian Jeffrey (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) in 2014.

Things did not go quite to plan in CMRC Group 3, in which T&T’s Paul Vieira (Redline Racing / D’s Car Boutique Mazda RX-7) claimed a hat-trick of wins, the reigning champion looking ever more on target for back-to-back titles. Steve King (Starlet), who had claimed his first CMRC win at the Frankie Boodram Wallerfield International Raceway in T&T in July, finished third in race one, but differential failure left him on the sidelines, while Kurt Thompson’s (Glassesco / NKM Clothing / Bio-Beauty / Digicel 4G / Beacon Insurance / RA Mapp / Versatile Construction / Slam 101.1FM / Y103.3FM Honda CRX) second place in race two was the best result for the home team.

The grid for the first CMRC Superstock 600 Championship race promised an action-packed opening race, after the bikers had suffered the worst weather in a mixed day of Qualifying, leaving a number of potential front-runners down the back, including multiple champion and current points leader Stephen Vieira of Guyana on his Sunburst Orange Juice/Palm Court/Pure Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R. He had climbed from 16th to sixth by the end of the opening lap and passed his cousin Elliot Vieira (Mohamed’s Enterprise / Ramchand Auto Body Kawasaki ZX-6R) to take the lead at half-distance . . . but it came to nought, as he was disqualified for overtaking under yellow flags. Elliot inherited victory, with Matthew Vieira (Truck Masters/Game Express/Habit/Cyril’s Garage/Rio Inn Yamaha R6) second and Canada’s Kevin Graham, riding for Barbados, third on his Sunburst Orange Juice/Pirelli/Harvey Mushman Racing Yamaha R6.

Stephen Vieira retired from sixth place after two laps of the second race, in which Elliott and Matthew repeated their results from race one, with Terrance Ollivierre (Percy King Auto Parts/Kermitt’s Bar/Demario’s Cycle World Suzuki GSX-R600) replacing Graham for the second Team Barbados podium of the day . . . and the outcome might have been even better. Having started sixth on the grid, Bushy Park lap record holder Brook Miller (Evolite/Turbo/Biz Needz/ProSales Barbados/KORE Fitness/Kari Brook Live/Bridgestone/Pure Action/Chicken Hawk/Mancini Suzuki GSX-R600), the only local rider to score points before last weekend, had caught race leader Elliot Vieira to challenge for the lead, when he took a serious tumble on lap six of eight after being caught out by a wet patch at the W’s. Protected by his safety equipment, he was lucky not to suffer more serious injury, but he took no further part in the day’s racing.

With Elliot Vieira side-lined before the start, Matthew Vieira claimed victory in the day’s final race, Ollivierre and Kris Brathwaite (Evolite/Execsec Corporate Services Yamaha R6) filling the podium places on a day which confirmed the significant progress that has been made in bike racing in the island since the redevelopment of Bushy Park.

Guyana’s Kristian Jeffrey and local racer David Simpson joined the Suzuki Challenge Series SR3 Cup roll of honour yesterday (September 4) as they shared race wins with reigning champion Sean Maloney during the Digicel Williams International Race Meet at Bushy Park Barbados. Ryan Wood took the chequered flag in all three Swift Cup races, but was disqualified from the third for taking the Joker Lap twice, handing victory to Jason Parkinson.

Suleman Esuf claimed his third pole position in Saturday Qualifying, despite a loose wheel delaying him at the start of the session; by the time he emerged from the pits, the others had completed their allotted time, so he enjoyed a virtually clear track, the only driver to record a sub-60secs time. Guyana’s Calvin Ming joined him on the front row, ahead of Mark and Stuart Maloney, Simpson and Mark Vieira of Guyana, back for the first time since last year, Sean Maloney, Trinidad & Tobago’s David Coelho and Jeffrey, who had spun off on his first lap and failed to set a time.

Esuf made the best start, leading Ming and Stuart Maloney early on, with Mark Maloney moving up to fourth just before half-distance, by which time Sean Maloney and Vieira had retired. On lap six, Mark Maloney tried a brave manoeuvre into the Ws Hairpin, passing brother Stuart and Ming on the inside, even trying a move on Esuf; he spun across the track in front of Stuart and Ming on the exit, however – Stuart retired after contact, while Ming clipped the kerb and continued. Fifth-placed Simpson seized the moment; despite his best efforts, glued to the rear wing of Esuf’s Radical, he failed to find a way past, crossing the line four-tenths down, to equal his best result. Esuf was handed a 5secs jump start penalty, however, so Simpson claimed his first win, with Esuf, Jeffrey and Ming completing the finishers. Mark Maloney continued slowly, with damaged rear suspension, but was not classified.

The second race was one of a number hit by intermittent rain, Coelho and Ming retiring within seconds of the start as the pack streamed through the Hammer from the reverse grid formation, based on Qualifying. Sean Maloney emerged the leader, ahead of Simpson and the rest, but he soon spun, handing the lead to brother Stuart, who had already passed Simpson, with Esuf next up. Marks Maloney and Vieira enjoyed a fierce battle for fifth, the Guyanese driver eventually getting the upper hand, before Simpson spun down to last. Now second, Esuf to second put pressure on Stuart Maloney, until they aquaplaneded off into the gravel trap at the Dipper together, where they were soon joined by Mark Maloney, leaving his brother Sean to win, from Vieira and Simpson.

For the second race in a row, Ming was caught up in an incident at the first corner, which broke up the field, with Jeffrey the main beneficiary, handed a comfortable lead he was not to surrender. Initially second, Coelho lost the place to a determined move by Simpson at the Bullet, and then third to Esuf at the same corner on the following lap. After a spirited defence, Simpson lost out to Esuf three laps from home, but still had much to celebrate as the top points-scorer of the weekend, with three podium finishes.

Kenrick Husbands (Team Williams Industries) claimed his first Swift Cup pole position, by one-tenth from points leader Wood (Team Digicel), with Josh Read (Team Massy United Insurance) and newcomer Rhett Watson (Team ICBL) on row two. Wood led the day’s first race from lights to flag, opening sufficient of a gap to take the Joker Lap and rejoin still in the lead, ahead of Parkinson (Team Infra Rentals/Sol) and Read, who then lost third place to Husbands as he took his Joker on the last lap.

From the reversed grid based on Qualifying, Daryl Clarke (Team Digicel) lead off the line in the second race, but Carlos Edwards (Team Rock Hard Cement) was ahead by the end of the lap, and looked set for the win. Having started on the back row, Wood had been working through the field, however, and pounced on the final lap for his second win of the day, with Martinique’s Pascal Calvel claiming his first Swift Cup podium in third.

With the final grid based on points scored, Wood and Parkinson sat on the front row, Clarke and Barry Gale (Team Gale’s Agro Products) on row two, as Edwards had been served a four-grid penalty for an overly robust defence of his lead in the previous race. As before, Wood opened the gap enough to retain the lead on his Joker Lap, with the order behind remaining static, Parkinson ahead of Clarke and Read. By the final lap, Wood had opened the gap again and, much to everyone’s surprise, took a second Joker! Although that meant disqualification, handing victory to Parkinson, the 50 points scored from this two earlier wins were still sufficient for Wood to be top scorer of the day.

Confirmation of entries for Jamaica’s Timothy Stewart and local ace Rhett Watson in round four of the Swift Cup at Bushy Park Barbados carries past 50 the number of drivers who have participated in the Suzuki Challenge Series since its launch last March. This weekend’s (September 3/4) action is part of the Williams Digicel International Race Meet, featuring the Seaboard Marine Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC).

Alongside island drivers, the Swift Cup has attracted entries from Guyana, Jamaica, Martinique and Trinidad & Tobago over the past 18 months, while the SR3 Cup for the Suzuki-powered Radical sports-racers has additionally seen participation from England, St Vincent & The Grenadines and the United States.

Stewart heads to Barbados to drive the Team Simpson Finance Swift Sport in good spirits, having finished second in last weekend’s Rally of the Kings in his home country in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, co-driven by Stephen Gunter. A multiple karting Champion in the past, Stewart has returned to karting this year (three third places in Rotax Senior so far), alongside sprints and rallies, after a period of limited activity in the sport.

He started karting in 2002, finishing second in the Junior Sportsman Championship the following season, winning the Most Improved Driver Award. More titles came as he moved through the classes and he was a hat-trick winner of Abe Ziadie Memorial Trophy (2004 to ‘06) for the most points won in the season. He also travelled to race in Europe and the United States, winning the Junior Pre-Final at the 2006 Rotax World Finals in Portugal, with his last major title at home the JKA Shifter Class in 2010.

For Watson, taking over the Team ICBL drive from the absent Kyle Catwell will mark a return to the driving seat of a Suzuki Swift Sport. It was one of the cars used when Watson won the multi-discipline Suzuki Rocks! ROC Barbados Challenge, earning the right to represent his country (along with Dane Skeete) at the 2014 Race Of Champions at Bushy Park. While most of his driving has been done on rally stages rather than race circuits – he has won the Barbados Rally Club’s Champion Driver title for the past two years – he is supremely competitive and looking forward to the weekend.

With three rounds run, Team Digicel’s Ryan Wood leads the Swift Cup standings, with three wins in eight races (there were only two at the Barbados Festival of Speed), backed up by a second and two thirds. He has 25 points (equal to one race win) in hand over Jason Parkinson (Team Infra Rentals/Sol), who has won twice, with two second places keeping him in touch. The gap back to the Swift Cup’s eternal bridesmaid Josh Read (Team Massy United Insurance) in third place is another 13 points, so this would be a good weekend for him to finally climb on to the top step of the podium.

Another driver heading for Bushy Park on a high is Guyana’s Calvin Ming, who has been mixing his SR3 Cup programme with the NACAM Formula 4 Championship in Mexico, along with kart and F1600 campaigns in the United States. Images of him winning a round of the F1600 Championship Series at New Jersey Motorsports Park last weekend in a photo finish by 1/1000 of a second have been hugely popular on social media.

Having only been in action for the two races at the Barbados FoS, Ming is playing catch-up in the SR3 Cup, which is being led by Stuart Maloney, who dominated the Easter weekend races, claiming only the second hat-trick of Radical SR3 victories since the Series was launched. Although he finished only second and fifth in May, he still enjoys a 27-point lead over Suleman Esuf, in turn just one point ahead of Mark Maloney. Esuf was the only SR3 Cup contender to take advantage of last Sunday’s (August 28) Open Track Day at Bushy Park for some additional testing, so may be the man on form.